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I was raised in the Free Methodist Church. In that tradition, congregations have historically gathered on New Year's Eve for a covenant renewal service. They follow a liturgy designed by John Wesley that leads the church through remembrance of God's grace, confession of sin, and consecration to God's purposes. There is one prayer in that service that really grabs my atten...

For many of us New Year's Day is a time of reflection on the past and anticipation of the future. While we review the last year, we contemplate the year to come. If you are involved in that kind of thinking this New Year, I want to encourage you to be open to the idea that God may have plans for you in 2023 that you cannot yet envision. Be open to the idea that God may do...

In Luke 2:8-15 we read of the first song ever sung in response to the birth of Jesus. It is indeed the first noel, the first Christmas carol. There are two things that I find amazing about the first noel: who sang the song and to whom they sang it. 1) Who sang the song? The first noel was sung by a choir of angels. They sang, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on ...

The elders of ACC have decided to make some changes to the online presentation of our Sunday worship services. I would like to outline these changes and explain our reasons for making them. But first I want to express my gratitude to the valiant group of ACC members who have worked so hard to live-stream our worship services for the last two years. When we returned to in-...

"All those the Father gives mewill come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." -- Jesus of Nazareth (John 6:37) There was once a teenager who was kicked out of his church youth group for being a bad influence on the other kids. There was once a young intellectual whose mother wept in prayer after he abandoned his Christian upbringing for a life of...

In his humorous novel Skipping Christmas, John Grisham tells the story of Luther and Nora Krank, a middle-aged couple who are sick and tired of all the expense and bother involved in preparing for the holiday season. They calculate how much they normally spend on Christmas decorations, gifts, and food and realize that if they skip Christmas, they can afford to take a 10-da...

One of the ways that Christians engage in prayer is through the act of intercession making requests of God on behalf of others. Since Christians, by grace, have been brought into relationship with God, it is both our privilege and our responsibility to plead the cause of others before the Lord. 1 Timothy 2:1 lists our involvement in this kind of prayer as being of first i...

The writers of Scripture often referred to God as "the living God." What did they mean by this phrase? Was the idea merely that God is alive, that God exists. No. The meaning is much deeper than that. In the biblical mindset, to speak of "the living God" communicates the idea that God is present and active. God is not an aloof deity, removed from our struggles, indiffer...

One of the most worn-out, underlined, check-marked, re-read books in my library is Holiness Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots by J.C. Ryle. It is clearly among my favorites. J.C. Ryle (born 1816) was the Anglican bishop of Liverpool in the late 1800's. He is remembered for his numerous books on the Christian life and for his commentaries on the four gospels....

The books of the Bible were originally written in ancient Hebrew and in 1st century Greek (with small portions written in Aramaic). Since most of us do not speak those languages, when we study the Bible, we are forced to read a translation. Among the many linguistic groups on earth, there are close to 4,000 that do not have the Bible translated into their language. But we...